Results 321-340 of 880 for speaker:Catherine Ardagh

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Mar 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: Lá lus an chromchinn sona daoibh go léir. It is Daffodil Day today. As my friend said, many of us have been touched with cancer. The Irish Cancer Society does an unbelievable job. When one is brought into the cancer realm, one's whole life changes. One is always asking questions and learning about blood and platelet counts. It is another world that many families across the...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (12 Mar 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: I will speak on the issue my colleague, Senator McGreehan, raised in relation to the conversation about women feeling safe on our streets. The conversation arises after the tragic death of Sarah Everard in the UK. We should be asking ourselves what we can do about this in this House. We could look at our sentencing laws to start with and outlaw any sort of concurrent sentencing for sexual...

Seanad: International Women's Day: Statements (8 Mar 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: It is great to see Senator O'Loughlin in the Chair today. I have been sitting in on this debate since it started and I have been so moved by the contributions from my friends on both sides of the House. The debate has been enjoyable. There have been so many different perspectives on International Women's Day and I have dwelled on them. I thank my wonderful, beautiful colleagues for their...

Seanad: Seachtain na Gaeilge: Ráitis (8 Mar 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: Roinnfidh mé mo chuid ama le mo chara, an Seanadóir Murphy. Tá an-áthas orm go bhfuil an tAire agus an Aire Stáit anseo inniu agus fearaim fáilte rompu arís go dtí an Seanad. Táimid ag ceiliúradh Sheachtain na Gaeilge agus Lá Idirnáisiúnta na mBan freisin. Bhí díospóireacht iontach againn níos luaithe...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Feb 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: I also welcome the White Paper. In 2014, Mr. Justice Bryan McMahon said that anyone forced to live in a system that denied them the right to work or study and determined almost every aspect of their life without any indication as to when their circumstances might change would go mad. Some of them said to him that they would prefer to go to jail because they would have a definite sentence...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (19 Feb 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: I also wish to raise the issue of Ulster Bank raised by some of my colleagues. It is the end of a 160-year era. We all remember the Henry the Hippo money box growing up. Today is a huge blow for the 2,800 staff. It is also hugely worrying for those customers who have non-performing loans or who may have restructured their loans recently due to being put on the pandemic unemployment...

Seanad: Student Nurses (Pay) Bill 2021: Second Stage (19 Feb 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: I thank the Minister for coming to the House. I wish to take this opportunity to thank him for all the hard work he has done on Covid. He should congratulate himself and his staff in the Department of Health on the vaccine roll-out plan. People wrongly compare us with New Zealand regarding zero Covid, but when our vaccine roll-out is compared with New Zealand's, they will start on Saturday...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (8 Feb 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: I ask the Leas-Chathaoirleach to allow me some indulgence in respect of my time. I raise the issue of cancer services during Covid and post Covid. I was shocked to hear that Professor Seamus O'Reilly, an oncologist from Cork, told the European Parliament that the impact of Covid will set cancer care services back ten years. I am asking the Minister and the Leader to ensure this does not...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Provision (1 Feb 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: Beannachtaí Lá Fhéile Bríde oraibh go léir. I will be quick as I am sharing time with Senator Fiona O'Loughlin who has a long track record of advocating in the Dáil for a publicly funded IVF system. As we know, the statistics show that infertility affects one in six couples and affects men and women equally. Having lived through the highs and lows of five IVF...

Seanad: Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters: Health Services Provision (1 Feb 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: The provision of a third stage of free IVF is what we are really looking for as it is the cost-prohibitive factor for couples. When the Minister is bringing the AHR Bill forward he must accept that many couples in Ireland travel to other jurisdictions to escape the restrictions in their own country on egg donation and surrogacy. I would really like a debate, both generally and in the House,...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (1 Feb 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: Guím beannachtaí lá fhéile Bríde ar gach duine. I would like to join Senator Frances Black in her comments on the destruction of nearly 550 tapes of oral testimonies without having made a transcript. It is shocking, appalling and gut-wrenching. I hope the Minister comes to the House to explain what exactly happened and who made the direction to destroy the tapes....

Seanad: Response to Covid-19 (Social Protection): Statements (1 Feb 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: I join colleagues in congratulating the Minister on the birth of her grandchild. I hope she gets to spend some time with the new arrival on Zoom or in person. I also thank the Minister and her staff for their ongoing commitment to the provision of social protection supports during this pandemic. The Minister and all of her staff have been working unbelievably hard. Her office is very...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Jan 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: I join in expressing sympathy to the family of our former colleague, Deputy and Senator, Professor Brian J. Hillery. I offer my condolences to his family who are grieving at this time. It is great to see Senator Norris back in the House and I am glad that he is recovering well. I must point out that the same loophole on fobbing in applies to Members who have had a baby recently, or what...

Seanad: Free Provision of Period Products Bill 2021: First Stage (26 Jan 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: I second the proposal.

Seanad: Report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation: Statements (Resumed) (26 Jan 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: I, too, join with colleagues in saying it is very appropriate that Senator Boyhan is in the Chair today. I thank him for taking time to do so.

Seanad: Report of the Mother and Baby Homes Commission of Investigation: Statements (Resumed) (26 Jan 2021)

Catherine Ardagh: All of us waited for the publication of the report, but no one more so than the survivors and relatives of the survivors of the mother and baby homes.The treatment of women in Ireland in recent history and, obviously, in the timeframe of the mother and baby homes can only be described as one of abandonment, distress, grief, loneliness, heartbreak, trauma and pure unkindness. The sight of the...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2020: Committee and Remaining Stages (16 Dec 2020)

Catherine Ardagh: Gabhaim buíochas leis an Leas-Chathaoirleach. I also thank Senator Craughwell for bringing these amendments forward. On the face of it, it seems to be manifestly unfair that those who pay PRSI contributions have no benefits stemming from it. In the past number of years where we have had a particular influence in this House the public have become aware of the fact that one needs one's...

Seanad: An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (15 Dec 2020)

Catherine Ardagh: I wish to discuss the housing assistance payment, HAP. Nearly 59,000 households are supported by means of this payment and many of us on the ground know that those in receipt of it are struggling to pay their rent. Many of them are topping up their HAP to their landlords so that they can stay in their homes. Topping up HAP was never meant to be the case. The system is significantly...

Seanad: Social Welfare Bill 2020: Second Stage (14 Dec 2020)

Catherine Ardagh: I thank the Minister for coming to the House. Fianna Fáil welcomes this Bill, which gives effect to unprecedented levels of expenditure in budget 2021. Aside from the enormous levels of expenditure, the Bill also provides that the change to the State pension age previously planned for 1 January 2021 will be deferred. The pension age will remain at 66 pending the report of the...

Seanad: Finance Bill 2020: Committee Stage (11 Dec 2020)

Catherine Ardagh: I support the extension of the help-to-buy scheme. The figures show that 16,412 people applied for the help-to-buy scheme from January to November and even more people have applied in the last few months. If the Senator were successful in removing the section, can he imagine how many first-time buyers would be let down by him and Sinn Féin? The UK has brought in a similar scheme,...